Taxed to Death
Debra Purdy Kong
Mystery/Suspense
[rating: 3/5]
Available in:
• Mobi/Kindle
• ePub/iPad
• PDF
• HTML
… from…
• Amazon
• MobiPocket
• AllRomanceEbooks
• OmniLit
Also in paperback
When Revenue Canada auditor Alex Bellamy discovers that $150,000 is missing from Ice Craft Jewelers inventory, someone from Special Investigations suddenly takes him off the case. But Alex decides to keep investigating anyhow, and before he knows it, his best friend is dead—suicide, if you can believe it. Moreover, someone is chasing Alex himself, and he must turn to Jillian Scott, a woman he’s never met and who is as afraid of him as he is of being caught. Soon, her fears and his search embroil them in a bizarre and disturbing nightmare.
I read Taxed to Death as part of a review-exchange on GoodReads: I read someone’s book, and someone else reviews one of mine. To that end, and short of cash, I purchased a copy of Debra Purdy Kong’s Taxed to Death on the used market. This is the first in the Alex Bellamy series, the second being her more recent release, Fatal Encryption. But I couldn’t find a used copy of the more recent title, and I thought it would probably be best to start with the first in the series, anyhow.
The book started by throwing names and facts at me, as many mysteries do. Unfortunately—maybe because I’m dense—I didn’t get what was happening until later in the story. The story is billed as a mystery, but in some ways, it reads more like a suspense novel… except that I didn’t understand the characters, at all. In fact, the major viewpoint character, Les Silby, who gets the most screen-time, he’s one of the suspects. Him I got, at least as much as I could without knowing his full role until the end. Alex and Jillian, the hero and heroine of the story, I had no idea why they did most of the things they did.
As a side-effect, because the story can’t give away the ending, it frequently gave me a partial view, blanking out obvious things that the viewpoint character could see and was thinking about. Now, I’m not an expert in the mystery genre. As I recall, the mysteries I’ve read have achieved this effect simply by staying in the mind of the detective. Suspense novels, not so much, but in a suspense, it’s more important to maintain the tension between hero and villain, rather than to keep secret who the villain is. I’m not sure I liked the effect in Taxed to Death.
The story did get better near the end, as the situation became clear and the forces of evil began to close around our heroes. Even so, I never understood why Alex and Jillian did most of what they did, or felt what they felt, or thought what they were thinking. This is extremely important to me, because rich, three-dimensional characters are key to a good story. And these characters just fell flat.
This story is also missing a theme, as far as I can tell. I had originally expected something like: financial fraud is about more than money. (And that could be the theme of the story… maybe, kinda.) Or: we all pay when someone embezzles funds. (And I didn’t get that at all from this story.) Much less did I see an uplifting, character-based theme. It simply wasn’t that kind of book.
After all of that, I do hope to read the next book in the series Fatal Encryption. Why? Well, Taxed to Death is Debra Purdy Kong’s first book, published 15 years ago. That means that Debra probably put more into it than any other story she’s written, but also that it reflects her inexperience as an novelist. I’m hoping that Fatal Encryption, which came out just a couple years ago, gave her a chance to address some of the storytelling issues I noticed in Taxed to Death. Most importantly, I’m hoping she has gotten better at characterizing her characters, and I really want to get to know Alex Bellamy.
-TimK
|
Taxed to Death |
Available in: |
Very good information. Lucky me I came across your website by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve book marked it for later!
Great information. Lucky me I recently found your website by chance (stumbleupon). I have saved it for later!
969 bet – https://969bet-br.com/
Very good information. Lucky me I came across your website by accident (stumbleupon). I have book-marked it for later!
https://postimg.cc/0rdGkJfs
takbet – https://takbet-us.com
daddy – https://daddy-us.com
futebol do interior placar ao vivo – https://futebol-do-interior-placar-ao-vivo.com
Главная https://bonus-betting.ru/daddy-casino-promokod/
Very good info. Lucky me I ran across your website by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
https://www.mrclarksdesigns.builderspot.com/board/board_topic/690695/7705600.htm
здесь https://bonus-betting.ru/casino7-promocode/
Very good information. Lucky me I recently found your blog by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
bet deluxe login – https://bet-deluxe.com/bet-deluxe-login/
https://form.typeform.com/to/KyqedI8R
Great information. Lucky me I recently found your site by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve book marked it for later!
888 bet login – https://888-bet-au.com/888-bet-login/
liveme – https://liveme-us.com
Mivaro Click – Pages load efficiently, content well structured and browsing feels natural.
Very good information. Lucky me I found your site by accident (stumbleupon). I’ve saved as a favorite for later!
Great info. Lucky me I came across your blog by accident (stumbleupon). I have book marked it for later!
directory jaxx liberty wallet
Good information. Lucky me I came across your site by chance (stumbleupon). I have saved as a favorite for later!
protrustalliances – Gives a professional and secure impression, appealing to companies seeking dependable partnerships.
Great information. Lucky me I found your website by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve book-marked it for later!
Друзья, подскажите, куда лучше играть в 2025? Сам недавно протестировал кучу игровых сайтов — большинство тянут с выплатами. Остановился на тех, где есть лицензия и без верификации. Полный список с RTP и бонусами — по ссылке: казино Mellstroy. Кто с чем сталкивался?
RixarLink – Interface tidy, pages responsive, and everything felt trustworthy.
tim nasional sepak bola israel – https://tim-nasional-sepak-bola-israel.com
Web Site jax wallet
подробнее https://bonus-betting.ru/cactus-casino-promokod/
Ребята, не тратьте время на левые сайты! Чтобы выбрать проверенное казино, обращайте внимание на: русскоязычную службу поддержки, а также на частоту выплат. Я лично протестировал десятки платформ и оставил только те, где дают фриспины сразу. Весь список — по ссылке: [url=https://nexuscurvemedia.com/naslazhdaytes-igroy-v-onlaynkazino-klubnika-i-vyigryvayte-kruto/]казино клубника[/url]. Делитесь опытом!
QQ88 là nền tảng cá cược trực tuyến uy tín, cung cấp casino, nổ hũ, bắn cá và thể thao với trải nghiệm ổn định, bảo mật cao.
discover this info here jaxx wallet
казино чемпион – https://Champion-Casino-ru.com
Very good information. Lucky me I ran across your website by chance (stumbleupon). I have bookmarked it for later!
https://topogehnexxterp.babaorum.info/t66-1xBet-India-Promo-Code-1X200RED-Bonus-EUR130.htm#p465
thor – https://thor-br.com
betus – https://betus-casino-us.com
Very good information. Lucky me I found your site by chance (stumbleupon). I’ve saved as a favorite for later!
why not try these out jaxx liberty wallet
такой маркетплейс
see this jaxx liberty wallet
Привет, форумчане! Решил поделиться лайфхаком: как найти игровую платформу, где реально платят без задержек. Главное — не верить рекламе, а смотреть на статус регулятора и реальные комментарии игроков. Я собрал проверенные варианты с выводом на Сбербанк — ссылка тут: Mellstroy. Кто уже пробовал?
realbet – https://realbet-br.com/
Great information. Lucky me I came across your site by chance (stumbleupon). I have bookmarked it for later!
Привет всем! Решил поделиться, как найти надёжное онлайн игровой сайт в 2025 году. Главное — не гнаться за большими бонусами, а смотреть на юрисдикцию и отзывы реальных игроков. Я собрал список проверенных площадок с минимальным депозитом — вот тут: килограм казино. Кто уже пробовал?
Друзья, не тратьте время на левые сайты! Играйте только в проверенные казино с быстрым выводом. Мой личный топ с реальными выплатами — по ссылке: sykaaa casino. Кто что может порекомендовать?
580bet – https://580-bet.com
https://decidim.calafell.cat/profiles/promocode1xbet2/activity
Very good info. Lucky me I recently found your blog by chance (stumbleupon). I have book-marked it for later!